My TV Show Review on Clifford the Big Red Dog
Yo, what's up, my friends?
This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
And today, for my 19th TV show analysis, I'm gonna give you guys my take of "Clifford the Big Red Dog".
Here's what the series is about:
Based on the books by Norman Bridwell, the series chronicles the adventures of Clifford the Big Red Dog. His friends Cleo, T-Bone, and Mac, and Emily Elizabeth and her friends. Life on Birdwell island is never dull for Clifford and friends, that's for sure.
Having thought about what PBS Kids program to analyze after finishing "Wordgirl", this was a show that particularly came at the top of my mind. It was another program that I fondly grew up with too, so reviewing this one next became all-the-more tantalizing to me.
And I really must say, this was another enjoyable program to watch and relive my childhood.
Among the many things I couldn't help but note about this program was its comedic-style and humor. Every joke in the series landed with such fluency, and they hold great appeal to not just children, but to adults as well. The best part about the humor was that it was innocent.
Outside of comedy, the overall storytelling of the series wasn't without emotion, heart, and morals to live by. It had wonderful themes about friendship, love, and being responsible, and even though the characters don't go through any high risk adventures or something like that, it hardly matters because of the infinite charm it had.
The animation of this series was amazing too. It not only had a spirit and look that brilliantly honored the books, but, it had a wonderful appeal and beauty that was perfect for a TV show. The animators weren't afraid of creatively extending themselves visually, especially with the visual gags used with Clifford.
The music that was done by John Mancell and Mark Mothersbaugh was fun too. For composers of a TV series, Mancell and Mothersbaugh sure did know how to make the music bigger than likely intended. As a matter of fact, it was even strong enough on a cinematic kind of level. My favorite of the musical elements was the use of the piano.
Finally, the voice acting, characters, and character development were all-out wonderful. I loved how the performers passionately took on their roles like they were made for them, and how calm and collected their performances sounded. In this case, they didn't sound whiny compared to other programs for littles ones.
John Ritter was definitely the best out of all of the performers, I'll tell you guys that. Playing the role of Clifford, he portrayed the character with an astounding sense of honesty, kindness, and innocence that made Clifford so lovable. I also enjoyed how Ritter's humorous style was incorporated into the character and how he could get so physical with his voice alone, the best example coming from the Season 1 episode "The Itchy Patch".
Additionally, Kel Mitchell did a wonderful job portraying T-Bone, and Cree Summer was quite a scene-stealer as Cleo.
In conclusion, "Clifford the Big Red Dog" is another program that I'm proud to have known and be part of my life, and its appeal is something that I believe will last forever.
So, I rate "Clifford the Big Red Dog" five out of five stars.
